come off

verb

came off; come off; coming off; comes off

intransitive verb

1

a

: to acquit oneself : fare

came off well in the contest

b

: appear, seem

2

: succeed

a television series that never came off

—TV Guide

3

: happen, occur

4

US, informal

—used in phrases like where do you come off? to express anger or annoyance at what someone has said or done

Marie was bent over the table now, reading, her piping girlish voice hot with indignation. "Where does she come off, anyway?"

—T. Coraghessan Boyle

transitive verb

1

: to have recently completed or recovered from

coming off a good year

2

: to have recently stopped using (an illegal drug)

an addict who is coming off heroin

Synonyms

• be
• befall
• betide
• chance
• come
• come about
• come down
• cook
• do
• go down [slang]
• go on
• hap
• happen
• occur
• pass
• transpire

Examples of come off in a Sentence

couldn't believe that the wedding would actually come off—they've been “just dating” for years

the attempted revival of the city's downtown never really came off, and even more stores eventually closed

Recent Examples on the Web

Here is a look at the segment: Valdez is coming off a TKO victory over Liam Wilson in March. —Brian Mazique, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

Virginia Tech is coming off three straight losses, falling 38-31 to Syracuse on Nov. 2, 24-14 against now-No. 12 Clemson on Nov. 9, and 31-28 on Nov. 23 to Duke heading into Saturday's matchup against the Cavaliers. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2024

Unlike traditional mascaras—with pigments that can smudge, flake, and take some elbow grease to remove—tubing mascaras contain polymers that coat lashes without smudging and come off easily in warm water. —Allure Editors, Allure, 1 Dec. 2024

On the other hand, the Bills come off their bye full of optimism having handed the Chiefs their first defeat of the season in their last appearance on the field. —Ben Morse, CNN, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a